Suspect Zero

I heard of Suspect Zero in the previews to one of the other movies I rented and became instantly interested when I saw that it starred Ben Kingsley as a psychotic killer. It turns out he's stalking (in a very bizarre and supernatural way) the FBI agent, played by Aaron Eckhart, who happens to be the trying to find him for the murders he committed. This movie also stars Carrie Anne Moss as the FBI agent's partner. Ben Kingsley is an incredible actor and totally rocks as a bad you-know-what mo-fo. Definitely rent this movie. You might also want to want rent Sexy Beast, another tour de force role for Sir Ben.

A Bone To Pick

I just finished A Bone To Pick, the second book in Charlaine Harris' Aurora Teahouse mystery series. Our plucky little librarian (Roe, as she likes to be called) finds herself inheriting the not-so-small estate of an elderly acquaintance who passed away. Everyone, including Roe, wonders why she was named as the beneficiary, especially after she finds a skull very cleverly hidden in the house she inherited. Roe realizes that she was specifically chosen by this woman because they were members of a now defunct club that studied famous old murder cases, and that she will have to solve the mystery of the skull. Pick this one up if you're looking for a light, easy to read murder mystery.

The Day The Earth Stood Still

At the suggestion of a good friend (J of J&K at the movies - see link to blog in the sidebar) I watched The Day The Earth Stood Still. If you can get past the fact that it was made in 1951 so the overall look of it is dated, it's quite a good movie. It's a fairly accurate study of humanity. A man from outer space lands on Earth and the first thing that happens is that we shoot him (tell me that wouldn't happen in real life). The purpose of his visit is to attempt to stop humanity from using nuclear power before it can spin out of control resulting in catastrophic devastation, for more than just the planet Earth. Again, it's dated, but there is obviously great potential for the remake coming out later this year starring Keanu Reeves. I'm really looking forward to seeing what they do with this. If you have a free hour and a half, you should give this moldy oldy a go. If you need a little more convincing, it did actually win a Golden Globe.

The Amber Spyglass

I finally finished reading The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman. I started reading it ten or eleven books ago and couldn't bring myself to continue reading it. I made quite an effort to finish this before the weekend just I wouldn't have it sitting on my nightstand anymore. I'm sick of looking at this book. Needless to say, I didn't like it or the His Dark Materials series as a whole. Everything that happened seemed to be a random series of events that, in and of themselves, on some level may be exciting happenings but they're just thrown together in a big, messy jumble which makes for obnoxious reading. Lyra saved all of existence and I didn't even care. I was just relieved that it was over. I never saw the movie they made for The Golden Compass; I can't imagine them making the other two movies of this series. They'll probably bomb just because the source material is so bad. I don't know why these books are so popular. Don't buy these books. You'll waste hours of your life that you'll never get back.

Book Review: Real Murders

After reading the Sookie Stackhouse series I decided to check out Charliane Harris' mysteries, the first of which is Real Murders. Her writing style seems to be what refer to as "a good beach read" or "a good book to read while on a plane." Having said that, I enjoyed the light and quick-to-read murder mystery. A librarian is part of a club that studies and discusses real-life famous murders (such as Lizzy Borden), but someone is killing off each member of the club in the fashion of one of these famous murders. Definitely not a must-read. I bought the first three books of this series at the same time. I'm not sure I'll continue with her mysteries after I read the next two.

More Sookie Stackhouse

Well, I've been on a tear reading the rest of the Sookie Stackhouse books: Dead in Dallas, Club Dead, Dead to the World, Dead as a Doornail, Definitely Dead, All Together Dead, and From Dead to Worse. Whew! I thought I'd just post one blog for the rest of these. As part mystery, part sci-fi, and part romance these books are tons of fun to read. I have a new favorite literary character: Bubba. I won't spoil it for you, but I guarantee you will get a chuckle out of this minor character. If I've piqued your curiosity, check out the first book in the series, Dead Until Dark; Bubba pops up toward the end of the book. {snicker, snicker} I highly doubt Bubba will show up in the upcoming HBO series based on these books, True Blood. I'm looking forward to the show. I hope it's as fun as these books.

Dead Until Dark

Ruh-roh Raggy! I found a new book series that you're going to hear all about starting with this book and carrying on with the other seven once I read them. The first book is called Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris. HBO is starting a new series on September 7th called True Blood, which is based on this book series and created by the Six Feet Under guy. So I thought I'd give the first book a read before the TV show started and I got hooked immediately. I read the first book last night, and I plan to crank through the rest of the books almost as quickly. It's set in Bon Temps, a small Louisiana town, in present time; the only difference is that vampires "came out of the coffin" a couple years ago after the Japanese successfully synthesized blood and are trying to find their place in society (well, some more than others). The main character in these books is Sookie Stackhouse, a young woman who can read minds whether she wants to or not. She becomes instantly attracted to a vampire that moves into town because she can't read his thoughts and enjoys the peace and quiet of just being around him. Of course, murder and mayhem ensues. If you're looking for a fun, easy read pick this up and give it a try.

Reign of Fire

I had low expectations for Reign of Fire but it turned out to be a fun movie. It's got dragons - what more could you ask for?! Who cares about the plot?! In case you're one of those people who actually do care about the plot, it's set about 20 years in the future when dragons mysteriously and overwhelmingly take over the world to consume everything. There's a small pocket of human survivors in Scotland, who are joined by a group of Americans (not quite sure where they came from), who attempt to hold off the dragons and prevent human extinction. Rent this one if you want to see some cool looking dragons.

Book Review: The Subtle Knife

The second book in Philip Pullman's Dark Materials trilogy, The Subtle Knife, was a little disappointing. The first three-quarters of the book was somewhat boring. We're following around our 10 year old heroin, Lyra, who doesn't know or learn much of what's going on so we're mostly left in the dark until close to the end of the book. We eventually find out more about what's going on, and the cliff-hanger at the end of this book leaves the reader anxious to find out what happens next. It's not bad, but I have higher expectations for the pace of the last book. I guess this book fell deeply into the pit that most second books of triliogies fall into: The Great Pit of Nothing Much Happens Because I'm Saving It All For The End Of My Epic Trilogy.

Hope for Dumbledore?

I heard a rumor that Michael Gambon may have actually looked at the sixth book of the Harry Potter series, HP and the Half-Blood Prince, while filming the movie. Notice that I didn't say he read the book, only looked at it. Apparently Daniel Radcliff who plays Harry Potter said at one time or another that they were consulting the book during some scene they were filming together. This is just a rumor I heard. I have not found the actual quote.

Any glimpse whatsoever at any of the books could only help Michael Gambon and his horribly inaccurate portrayal of Albus Dumbledore. If there was anyone who ever needed to consult the source material it's him. I don't understand what his problem is. He's a British actor so he obviously has tremendous talent. The books are neither too simple to be interesting nor too complex to follow. I can only conclude that he is lazy and belligerent and in it for the money since he clearly puts no thought whatsoever into the character he's portraying.

I'm not going to set any expectations of a better performance, but I will hope that Daniel Radcliff loaned him the book for a day or two peruse. We'll see in November.

Rescue Dawn

I don't know why I did this to myself. I hate watching war movies. I hate seeing all the horrible things people do to each other in times of war. But I rented Rescue Dawn because I'm on a Christian Bale kick since Batman came out. I think my kick is over. It's based on a true story about guy who got shot down in Laos while on a top secret mission and he gets caught by the natives. Basically, the rest of the movie is watching him being tortured. Because it's such a well made and well acted movie it makes the cruelty that much more horrible. Watch it at your own risk.

Breaking Dawn

Breaking Dawn, the last book of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series, was great send off to a fun saga. This books wraps of the story of Bella and Edward and their struggle to make a place for themselves in this world; a somewhat difficult task since Edward is a vampire and Bella wants to become one. It took a turn near the beginning that I wasn't expecting and brought the story in a whole different direction than I was anticipating. I like when stories surprise me like that. I was more interested in reading the book since I didn't predict this turn in their story. It was obvious from the previous books, though, that there would be a showdown with the Volturi, the ancient rulers of the world of vampires. I was pleasantly surprised, again, that the confrontation occurred differently than I had anticipated. I liked that it didn't quite follow the cliche that I had anticipated. This was a fun series and I recommend that you at least give the first book a try.

Movie Reviews

I've rented a few movies recently. The first was The Machinist starring Christian Bale. I rented it because in all the articles surrounding the Batman release they mentioned this movie. I enjoyed this movie overall, but it was a little artsy-fartsy. The majority of the movie was him doing seemingly random things while weird things happened to him. But in the last five minutes or so it all fell together and I sighed a big "Ohhhhhhhhh." The acting and the filming of this movie were really good, so if you're in the mood for something a little off the wall try this one. But I will warn you that Christian Bale is anorexic in this movie; it's very disturbing to see.

I rented Shattered with my mom and it was OK. It starred Maria Bello and Gerard Butler who play a couple terrorize by Pierce Brosnan who is holding their young daughter hostage and making them do all kinds of weird things. Overall the movie was just OK so don't rush out to rent it right now, but it had a big twist at the end and I always like a movie with a surprise ending.

The last movie I saw was In Bruges starring Brendan Gleeson, Colin Ferrell, and Ralph Feinnes. This was a funny, non-PC British movie about a couple thugs hiding in Bruges, Belgium after a hit goes wrong. You should really add this one to your rental list. It's very well done.

I Want To Believe

The X Files: I Want To Believe was a better movie than I expected. I didn't follow the TV show through the end of its run so I worried that I wouldn't be able to follow all the inside sub-plots. But there is no need to be an X Phile to follow this movie. This could have been any FBI movie, but it was more fun to watch Mulder and Scully trying to solve the case. The movie opens in modern day after Mulder and Scully have both been retired from the FBI for some time. Mulder is called in to assist with a case in which they are using a psychic to assist them (the "X" part of the movie), and Mulder, in turn, needs Scully's assistance.

Initially, I thought "I Want To Believe" was a cheesy attention getting ploy for the title. But as the movie wore on it became apparent that this was the main theme of the movie for all of the main characters. While not applicable to the specific case they were trying to solve, the psychic needed to believe that his sins (which we learn to be heinous) are forgiven, Mulder needs to believe in his old X Files intuition, and Scully, the person in the most intense personal crises, needs to believe in God.

It's not a movie you have to run right out and see this instant, but you should at least put it on your rental list. The truth is out there.

Movie and Book Reviews

I don't like westerns so it better be a darn good movie if I'm going to invest the time to watch it. 3:10 to Yuma is better than darn good and I highly recommend it. It stars Christian Bale as a rancher who volunteers to join the group of men escorting a high profile outlaw, played by Russell Crowe, to the train that would take him to prison. The beginning of the movie is good, but as the movie progressed and the characters developed I liked it more and more. I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see how it was going to end (I was not disappointed). Add this to your list of movies to rent.

The book I just finished reading is Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox by Eoin Colfer. This is the sixth book in his Artemis Fowl series and I love it as much as I loved all the others. I think these books fall in the genre of young adult literature, but if JK Rowling taught us anything it's that a good book is a good book no matter what section you buy from in the book store. In this one, Artemis' mother becomes deathly ill with a disease that can only be contracted through tainted magic. Artemis has to call on his old friend, Holly Short, a fairy and officer in the Lower Elements Police (LEP) Recon division. He also calls on his new friend, No 1, a demon (but a happy and friendly one to be sure) to them back in time so he can find the cure for his mother in a now extinct lemur. But to save his mother's life he has to triumph over his most cunning adversary yet - his younger (and much more obnoxious) self. My favorite character in all of literature has an appearance - Mulch Diggums, a dwarf and thief that creates tunnels by eating the earth, then expelling the debris out the other end in rude but hilarious ways. This book is a fun ride. If you've never read one you should give it a chance.

Charlie Bartlett

Charlie Barlett is a coming-of-age tale about a teenager, new to public schools, who gains popularity when he attempts to be a psychologist to the troubled student body. Half comedy/half drama, this is funny and moving look into the problems life deals out. Once again, I am blown away by the phenomenal acting of Robert Downey Jr. Even though he only has a supporting role as the high school principal and father of Charlie's girlfriend, he brings so much power and emotion to the struggles that his character is forced to deal with. I suggest you add this to your list of DVD rentals.

The Golden Compass

I just finished reading The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman, the first book of His Dark Materials series. (Yes, I'm quite late to this party.) The central character is an 11 year old girl, but I didn't think this book was written down to speak to children. Since I'm a fan of sci-fi/action books and movies, I was bound to like this one. Who can resist talking polar bears who kick major booty?! If you're a fan of this genre I suggest you pick up this book and give this series a try.

I'm going to read the other two Dark Materials books, but first I have to read the latest Artemis Fowl.

Also, I went to see The Dark Knight this weekend. Wow! What a GREAT movie! This is a must see. For a more in-depth review, please see my other blog http://jandkatthemovies.blogspot.com/

National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets

Disney knows how to make good movies, that's all there is to it. National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets was a fun adventure romp that takes us on a quest to find a lost city of gold from a pre-Columbian Native American nation. The places our heroes sneak in and out of unscathed are ridiculous (Buckingham Palace, the White House), but who cares?! I liked going along for the ride. My favorite part was that Mount Rushmore was an attempt to cover up a vast conspiracy. Add this to your list of movies to rent.

Mirror Mirror

I just finished reading Mirror Mirror by Gregory McGuire. He's the same guy who wrote Wicked (which I didn't enjoy at all). I liked the spin he put on this overhaul of the Snow White story. He worked in Lucrezia Borgia in the wicked queen role, along with her brother, Cesare, both of whom were infamous for being the children of a pope and who spent their lives in pursuit of power by just about any means available to them. Weaving these historical figures into his story made it more interesting to read. This story also includes an eighth "dwarf" (for lack of a better word to call these odd creatures), apples from the Tree of Knowledge (yes, that one from the Bible), and, of course, a magic mirror. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reading a dramatically different story of Snow White.

The Water's Lovely

I think I need to add Ruth Rendell to my list of favorite authors. In The Water's Lovely, she creates a fabulous mess with a mixed cast of characters that makes you not want to put the book down until you've read the very last word. Everybody has vastly different motivations (some good, some sinister) and she weaves their lives together in the wonderfully intricate web. This is a must read (as all of her novels probably are, but it'll take me quite some time to read all 60 or 70 of them).

Reviews for 2 1/2 Movies

The Bucket List is a touching movie about two older gentlemen, played by Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson, who find out they both have less than a year to live. So they make a list of all the things they want to do before they kick the bucket. It's much more moving and inspiring than I was expecting. If I had known it was this good I would have gone to the theaters to watch it. This is a must see so add it to your movie list.

27 Dresses turned out to be better than I thought too. It's about a woman who's always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Then her sister comes to town and turns her life upside down, forcing her to decide to take charge of her own life. Add this to your list of chick flicks to watch.

Now for the "half" movie, Fools Gold. This was so stupid that I couldn't finish watching it. It was torture. Don't waste your time or money on this one.

Reviews for 1 1/2 Books

I just finished reading Two-Dollar Bill by Stuart Woods. Definitely a must-read. It's a quick-paced mystery full of many well fleshed-out characters that turn the pages for you. This novel follows Stone Barrington, a Manhattan cop-turned-lawyer, as his life gets turned around by a highly skilled con man. I guarantee you will enjoy the crisp writing and witty banter between the characters.

Before that, I was struggling through another mystery called Shattered by Dick Francis, who is clearly a stuffy, fussy old British guy. I tried to stay with it, but the writing was too tedious to keep reading. After almost a 100 pages I decided that I had enough of the background story to be able to read the conclusion, so I flipped to the back of the book to read the ending. I'm so glad I did. I saved myself a few hundred pages of reading and I still got the whole story without suffering through more of the writing than I had to.

Movie Reviews

Let's start with the good movie first. The Orphanage is a very good movie but it's in Spanish so you'll have to read subtitles. It's by Guillermo del Toro of Pan's Labyrinth fame, which I also recommend. It's about a woman who was in an orphanage as a little girl before she was adopted. Now as an adult, she bought the orphanage with her husband with the intention of caring for several special children. But when her (adopted) son goes missing, she has to discover the secret the ghosts of her childhood friends keep in an effort to find her own child. It's dark but not scary, and the ghosts are minimal so it's not hokey. It's very well made and I suggest you add it to your list of movies to see.

Now for the bad movie. Sweeny Todd is s-l-o-w and boring and the music is terrible! I thought I remember that it got good reviews, but I recommend that you don't waste your time because it's two hours of your life that you'll never get back. The acting is good - no one could argue that Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, and Helena Bonham-Carter (all Harry Potter actors, by the way) could ever do a poor job. But the almost nonexistent plot and the bad music just make this movie drag. Skip this one.

Send Your Own Twilight E Card

What's So Funny?

I'm finally diving into my backlog of books (as opposed to buying all new books like I've been doing lately) and found a treasure my Dad passed along to me a while back. What's So Funny?, written by Donald Westlake, is a crime caper featuring one of Westlake's best loved characters, Dortmunder. This hilarious romp follows Dortmunder and his usual goofy crew of hoodlums as they try to get their hands on a gold and jewel encrusted chess set. If you're looking for something light and funny, pick this one up.